Nestled deep in the forest, high on the mountains .....

 this was our cabin and some of the sights that greeted us every time we walked out on our porch.

Then, another morning ... after the task of  "bringing in the herd" was accomplished .... we picked our horses and headed out

on a long trail ride thru another section of the mountains en route to a thermal area.

YEEEE-HAW !!  ... Here we go !!

I think the horses rather liked it when we had to

 cross streams in the thermal area,

because the water  was nice and warm.

Yep .... we paid money to look like we had been rolling around in a muck pile.  Oh well, at this age, us girls will  try anything that's supposed to help the "rejuvenation process".

After the sauna ... mud baking ...

and COLD WATER hose-off .....

we played around in a series of  6 thermal pools

of various temperatures.

And when the evening mountain mists started to roll in .... it was time to head back to the ol' corral.   WHAT  A  DAY !!

Wandered hither and yon on the Rio Tarcoles one day .... doing a bit of  "croc spotting ".   Yes it was raining.

" Old MacDonald had a croc.     E  I  E  I  O"

" Here a croc .... there a croc ...everywhere a croc croc ......... "

Roseate  Spoonbill

Crested  Caracara

Great Blue Heron

Drinks anyone ?

The closest any of us got to exercise

This 91 year old marimba player  ( who was really good ) .... entertained us during lunch.                Then it was time for Roy's nap.

We were the day's entertainment for this Costa Rican Plumed Jay.   Wherever we were .... there HE was ... with his head cocked.

We flew to this area via a little puddle-jumper .... landed at a small airstrip in the middle of a clearing ...... then took a small boat to our camp.

The "wildlife" was by no means confined to the uninhabited forest areas.

This frog made himself at home in front of our cabin door ....... and the snake & leaf-cutter ants seemed to favor the path to our little boat.

This swinging foot bridge near our cabin was one of the means of access to deeper parts of the "jungle".  Been on many of these before ... but this one made me nervous.

These  "Longline Sack-Winged Bats hang all over the tree trunks.  You don't even recognize them as bats, until you're almost nose-to-nose.

This is what forest exploration in the rainy season is like , on foot..    Mud Mud Mud Mud Mud.

We alternated this type, with small boat travel thru remote river areas. 

 At least with that means of transport, our boots didn't get sucked off by the mud

            Saw some amazing birds ..... like this Green-backed Heron.  

         Birders......eat your hearts out.

                  And how about the size of the

                    buttresses on this tree !!!???

And of course ... lots more mud.

But on the plus side ....... without mud like that, you can't get

 Jaguar prints like this

Now you've all seen this look.... 

 Y'all don't really need a caption do you ?

Typical of our "waterway" routes

"Jesus Christ Lizard"  ( Basilisk ) ... 

called JC because it actually walks on water. 

 Saw it do that, and it's really weird.

Tri-colored Heron

Ringed Kingfisher ... with dinner.

Tiger Heron

Here  kitty, kitty, kitty ...........